Regulator for brake rigging



Aug. 14, 1928.

w. H. SAUVAGE V REGULATOR FOR BRAKE RIGGING Filed Nov. 12, 1,927

Patented Angeli i mm ':sqawmsioskmwas rt' asisj ibmrr te wil ie m a ro-noran mwar rnovmlmr oar m mpr nnw. K.,.n-,r-,j 4

ooarom rzou' or nm m 3 Batman iron nnaxn' mem Application med Iove'n ber 12,1927. serial no. mesa I 'lhisinvention relates toregulators for the foundation brake gear of railway vehicles and will be hereinafter described with relationto its application at one end instead ofl the center a railway car, whereby a lever of the brake rigging havin' a' normall fixed fulcrum point may be a justed nan flposi tioned to insureuniform piston travel and roper brake shoe clearance. Theinvention hereinafter described embodies an improvementover the type of regulator shown in my co-pending filed December 27, 1926."

Accordingly, one of, he mainrobjects of 'my invention s to rovide a mechanism of the above general-c aracter whichis eas ly accessible and o erative to permit a-rapid and accurate ad ustment of-the brakes and positively hold, the parts'in'such admsted position until it isagain necessary the brake mechanismto "a further ad uste [positiona i- P 3 Another object oftheinvent on IS tOPIO- vide'a mechanismof the above character by which the parts may be readil 7 released after successive adjustments, an returned to initial position,astwhen it is desired to install newbrake shoes.-

A further object'is to provide a reliable,

so flexible and 'efiicient mechanism of the above character,having few parts, of simple and practical construction, and which may 'be easily andfi'quickly applied to brake r1 ging no'win general use w thout material a teration or modification of parts. r

A further object; is to'provide' a reliable mechanism of the above eneral character- 'which will-be-fool-proof in operation and in whichthe working parts will be'fully protected from atmospheric conditions and other disturbances. Other objects the annexed-1 drawings an after indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of this invention.

,; l This invention accordingly consists the features of, construction, combination of arts and in the'unique relation of the'memrs and in the relative proportion and 5 dis osition thereof, all as more comp etely' out 'ned herein; g i

To enable others skilled in the art comprehend the underl 'ingfeatures thereof that they may em appllcation. Serial No; 157,168, a

. described and to will be art obvious from- 0 dirt thereinin part herein-' y the same by the numerous modifications in' structure and I lation' contemplated by this invention, draw .ings' depicting a preferred form of the invention have been annexed-aspart of this 1" 'Fig. .1 is a;Semi-diagrammatic}elevationalview of such parts 'of the generalbrake rigging construction: and associated re a tOI ES willbe necessary to understan one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical lon thruthe'regulatorgf .q Fig. 3 is .a transverse sectionalong {lines of; Fig. 2; and

particularly to Fig. 1, idesignates thereon ventional truck bolster, near which one .endofa dead lever 6 of the brake rig 'ngv'.jnore Fig. atv is I atransverse section ad I tudinal section mallyjta-kes up a osition of rest. t will be understood that t e lever 61has a connection at. its lower end, with a bottom rod v7 -extend -f ing to alive lever 8 'which is actuatedfrom the cylinder levers-I (notshownlby arod 10. At the. top end" of the; lever 6 t are isp'rovided a clev s ll -connected ,withone or {more links 12, which inturn are joined to a shackle 13, thusproviding a flexiblecons nection between dead leverifi and "an ad,-

justin'glrodl t. By reference to Fi 2,-the ad usting rod 1 14.extends.thru a ousing or casing l5.-'which is boltedor otherwise secured to the under side ofa. caribody or draft sill 16.near one end of the-car. An opening may, be provided in the underside of the casin for assembly or the insertion and 'removaf of, the parts to be hereinafter prevent the accumulation Within the casing is arranged a pawl on the adjusting rod 14 vand is adapted to float freel thereon.v A pawl 20j is suitably trunnione as at 21 within the cageand nor- .mally drops into engagement with one of the e b 17 which rides on ratchet teeth 18 dispo e d wardly, the cage 17 andpawl therein move along the casing 20, to the extent of lost mo tion provided for by the difference in length of the cage and housing. This distance is proportional to total truck brake shoe clearance.

According to the-present invention, I propose tohave the movement permitted the cage and pawl proportional to total brake .shoe clearance, whereby movement of the pawl throughout its predetermined stroke or travel brings the brake shoes into engagement with the car wheel peripheries, assuming that no excess travel exists in any part of the brake rigging. Further movement of the handle 22 and rod 14 towards the left, resulting from excess travel of the brakes, causes the adjusting rod or regulating rod 14 to move relativel to pawl 20 the distance of excess travel, an the pawl, by its engagement with the ratchet 18, takes u an adjusted position relative thereto to a sorb the excess travel existing in any part of the rigging and permanently holds the same. Upon release of the handle 22, the rod 14 and pawl move back to the position shown in ig. 1, by gravity action on the lever 6, and the parts are ositively held in adjusted position for bra e application.

To provide for variation of proper brake shoe clearance as required under different operating conditions or different types of rigging, one or more washersor shims 24 surround the rod 14 between one of the end walls of casing 15 and cage 17. Thus, by adding one or more shims or washers, the travel of the cage 17 and pawl may be varied to meet the varying requirements of brake shoe clearance.

The ratchet rod 14 is circular, or substantially so, in cross section, and supports the shims as shown in Fig. 4. To efiect release of the regulator, it is necessary to turn the rod 14 a quarter turn more or less as permitted by the flexible link connection 12 to effect disengagement of the awl 20 from the ratchet 18, and the rod 14 1s permitted to move relatively thereto to return the brake ar to its full release position and ermit t e insertion of new brake shoes, or exam 1e.

ltho the regulator has been described in the foregoing as being fixed to the draft sill and operative to regulate the adjusting rod connected to the dead lever, it is equally applicable as a normally fixed support for any of the levers of the foundation brake rigging and by its regulating features serves to so position the lever with which it is associated as to insure predetermined brake shoe clearance and predetermined piston travel upon ap lication of the brakes.

It will be an erstood that the regulator as above described should be used with the general type of brake gear shown in my prior Patent, No. 1,612,781, dated December 28, 1926, in so far as the hanger or stop limiting means for the cylinder levers are concerned.

From the above, it will be seen that the present invention provides a reliable, flexible, fool-proof and efiicient mechanism of simple and practical construction and well adapted to accomplish, among others, all of the advantages and objects herein set forth.

Without further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim- 1. In combination with a lever of the foundation brake gear, a variable re lator therefor including an adjusting rod aving ratchet teeth thereon, a freely floating cage resting on said rod, and a pawl mounted in said cage and abutting an end wall thereof for engagement with said ratchet teeth, said adjusting rod having a substantially circular cross section whereby, u on turning of said rod, the pawl is isengaged from said ratchet,

2. In combination with a lever of the foundation brake gear, a regulator therefor including a casing, an adjusting rod extending thru said casing and having ratchet teeth thereon, a floating cage mounted in said casing and resting on said adjusting rod, a pawl mounted in said cage for engagement with said ratchet teeth, and freely movable means operative betweensaid casing and said cage to vary the movement of said cage relative to said casing.

3. In combination with a lever of the foundation brake gear, a regulator therefor including a casing, an adjusting rod extending thru said casing and having ratchet teeth thereon, a floating cage mounted in said housing and resting on said ad'usting rod, a pawl mounted in said cage or engagement with said ratchet teeth, and shims resting on said ratchet rod and arranged to vary the travel of said cage relative to said casing.

4. In a regulator for foundation brake gear, an adjusting rod havin a connection with one of the levers of said brake gear, a housing thru which said rod extends, said rod having ratchet teeth thereon, a floating pawl mounted in said casing and normally engaging said ratchet teeth, said pawl being permitted movement relative to said casing proportional tobrake shoe clearance, and shims operative between said casing and pawl to vary the travel of said pawl.

5. In a regulator for foundation brake gear, an adjusting rod having a connection with one of the levers of saidbrake gear, a. casing thru which ,said rod extends, said rod having ratchet teeth thereon, acage in said housing resting on said ratchetteeth,

. a pawl mounted in said cage and normally in' engagement with one of said ratchet teeth, said cage and-pawl being, permitted movement in said housing proportional to brake shoe clearance, and one or more shims in said casing and operative between said casing and said cage to vary the amount-of.

travel of'said cage and pawl. 6.'In a regulator for foundation brake gear, a regulating rod of substantially circular cross section having a connection with one of the levers of said brake gear, a housing thru which said adjusting rod extends,

said rod having ratchet teeth thereon, a cage.

in said housing adapted to float on said ratchet teeth, a pawl trunnioned in said cage, and normally. in engagement with one of said ratchet teeth, said cage and pawl permittedmovement in said housing proportional to brake shoe clearance, and an adjustable means operative between saidcas 7 ing and said cage to vary the travel of said cage and pawl, the said pawl and rod 

